How To Start A Blog: My Advice To Beginning Bloggers

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This post is a part of the Beginner Blogger Challenge hosted by Passive Income To Retire. The point of it is for “experienced” bloggers to give a few tips to those who are just starting out or who are looking to start out.

Because I know a number of people who are looking to start their own blogs/websites, I will try to make this a “how to start a blog” post as well as tips. If you have any questions, just leave a comment below.

How To Start A Blog

Many of these points are things that I wish I knew about when I first started. Doing these things from the beginning will save you a lot of time, frustration, and even money!

Own Your Blog

When you start blogging, you have a choice on what type of platform you will use. There are websites which will allow you to have a page (or pages) within their preexisting site. The big three are Blogger, Tumblr, and WordPress.com. If you are on one of these sites, whatever happens to them (hacked, bugs, shut down by government, etc) happens to you!

Also, they can shut down your space on their site whenever they feel like it (especially with Blogger). This is why I recommend that to anyone who wants to have a blog to establish their own website first! Here is how you do it:

Buy the Domain – I recommend using GoDaddy (I’ve purchased over 30 domains through them and have never had a problem). Once you decide on a domain name (this is a very important step), head on over to Godaddy (this is an affiliate link – meaning that I will earn a few pennies, at no cost to you, if you use it) and make it yours. They also have a great search feature that will let you know if a name is taken, and if so, what the closest available alternatives are.

Buy Hosting – Once you buy a domain, you have to have a place to store (or host) all of the files for your website. I have used Hostgator for nearly 3 years now and I love them! They have great prices – I pay about $6 or $7 a month, and I have about 30 websites hosted with them! They are also known for their reliable systems (my website has only been down twice since I’ve been using them), and great customer service – they have forums, an instant chat service, and a toll-free number.

If you use the coupon code “KNSFINANCIAL25” (with no quotes), you will receive 25% off of your order! So be sure that you sign up for a couple of years in order to take full advantage of this sale (it only applies to new accounts).

Install WordPress – WordPress.org is where you can find the version of WordPress that you can install on your private site. This is the most popular blogging platform (and is also used to create full websites), and it is completely free. They also have tons of plugins, themes, and basic support in order to make your site run as smoothly as possible!

Permalink Structure

This is the term that describes what the URL (or link) will look like with each blog post. When you first set up your blog using WordPress, it will make the links to your blog posts look like this instead of http://knsfinancial.com/taxes.

Now, which one would you rather deal with? It’s pretty easy to tell what the second one is about, and it is also easy to type, and say.

There are also other benefits, which are beyond the scope of this article.

Decide If It Will Be A Business Or Hobby

When you are thinking about how to start a blog, you need to know this right away. If it is a hobby, then make sure that you keep it fun, light, and don’t allow it to take over your life or your bank account. However, if it is a business, then you can evaluate each purchase on the basis of its value as an investment.

You should organize and present yourself as a business – this may mean spending time and/or money investing in a professional design, using emails from your own domain (instead of Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail), and spending time creating and refining a system of organizing files, contacts, wishlists, etc.

I would also recommend that if you see something that you want to use for your site, but it costs money, you buy it and start using it right away – if it’s worth the investment. Trying to change platforms, especially from a free, under-supported product to a more robust professional one can be a big headache. This is especially try when it comes to building an email list!

Learn/Understand The Basics Of SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is the art/science of writing and marketing a website, page, article, or even photo, in such a way that it comes up as one of the first choices when someone uses a search engine and types in the word or words that your item is about.

There is no point in doing all of these other things if no one knows that you are out there. Also, for many websites, the readers that come from search engines tend to be the ones that bring in the largest revenue.

Be Organized & Have Structure

Even if you start out with the idea that this is just a hobby, you need to be organized. Create subfolders in your email inbox, use a task list, share documents over the web so you can keep track of your ideas and other things.

Also, the way that you structure your website – categories, tags, posting schedule, pages – should be organized as well. Your readers will find it much easier to follow your story if you are organized.

Network With Others In Your Niche

The best way to learn about organizing your blog, trends, plugins and other software, affiliate programs, SEO (including targeting the right keywords), tricks, free tools, and everything else related to blogging, is to talk to people who are already doing it. Actually, that is the point of this “Beginner Blogger Challenge” – people who have been doing it, writing tips and lessons learned for the benefit of those who have less experience!

I have “met” – actually I did meet a lot of bloggers in person at the 2011 Financial Blogger Conference – a lot of great people by trying to network. I was amazed to find out that there are more than a dozen Christian personal finance bloggers…I thought I would be alone! I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t started to comment on the one or two blogs that I found, and then started to develop relationships with the writers and other commenters as well.

By networking, you can also find people who can help you with things that are outside of your expertise. I know nothing about coding, but there are quite a number of people who do in the Yakezie network, and so I know where to go when I have coding questions. Whenever there is a subject that I know pretty well, I try to lend my expertise as well – the definition of effective networking!

Support Others

Part of networking is supporting other bloggers and organizations. The point of doing this isn’t just to see what you can get out of people, but it’s a way for you to extend yourself and help people. Even if it is just giving feedback on a site redesign, the help of other people who are going through (or have already been through) what you are doing is so important.

Be willing to share what you know with others and don’t expect anything in return.

Here are 4 questions that everyone who participated in this “challenge” had to answer…

Q&A Time:

1) How long have you been blogging?

I have been blogging for about 2 years. I’ve had this site for longer than that, but I didn’t use it for blogging (actually, I’m still not sure if I do now).

I initially started off by posting bulletins and announcements from the IRS, and also adding other information to my tax guide. It took about 4 or 5 months for me to start writing consistently, and also to broaden out my topics to more than just taxes.

2) Why did you start blogging?

I was bothered by all of the people that I came across who knew nothing about personal finance. I started the website as a way to provide organized information that would help people gain control of their finances.

I want people to be able to find answers to their financial questions without having to wade through all of the garbage and attempts to sell something, which flood the internet!

3) How long did it take you to earn $100?

It took about 6 months to earn my first $100. After about a year the income became a little more steady.

I honestly didn’t know that it was possible to make money with a blog or small website, so I was shocked when I found so many people making more online than I do at my day job!

4) What is (at least) one thing you wish someone had told you before you started?

I wish I would have treated this as a business from the very beginning. I would have viewed spending money as making investments, and I would have saved a lot of time and energy, while making a lot more money!

I wasted time by trying to go the cheap route and then upgrade to the better option once I started making enough money. That’s not the way most businesses operate! There needs to be an initial investment in capital and manpower in order to get a business off the ground – the same is true with a blogging business.

photo by digitalart

What Are Your Best Options For Making Cheap International Calls

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The following is a sponsored post on behalf of Dial to Save.

It only takes opening up a newspaper or turning on a news report to see that migration to the United States is rising day by day.  Since this is the case, making international calls continues to be a necessity for many people here who wish to communicate with family members and friends in other nations. However, this goal usually doesn’t go well when trying to cut your phone bill.

The Problem With Making International Calls

In previous years, it was pretty impossible to make cheap international calls by any means.  While things have improved immensely over time, it still takes a bit of searching and comparison shopping to decipher the best route to take for international calls.

Things to be considered are the country where the call will be received, as well as if the number is a landline or a cell number – as the prices vary based on these circumstances. For instance, there are really only a few options available when considering cheap calls to India or cheap calls to Pakistan.

The Most Popular Way To Make Cheap International Calls

The most popular method over time has been calling cards.  These are available anywhere on the internet, most major convenience stores, and many small corner stores.  The prices vary very much with calling cards, so it is important to comparison shop based on your specific destination country.

Alternative Ways To Make Cheap International Calls

  • Skype – Many who are more computer-savvy use resources such as Skype which has very cheap international rates, video capabilities, and free calls if the person at the other end also has a Skype number.
  • Google voice is quickly becoming a major player in the international calling market!
  • Another popular option that is available is an access number option – where specific contacts are given a corresponding phone number and you pay a lower rate for calling that number.

While these are all good options, what is interesting is that the major land-line companies and cell phone companies have not yet honed in on the needs of their customers and started offering truly competitive rates for the millions of people that are looking to make cheap international calls.  Instead of lurking on the internet for hours and comparing, many would rather just add a plan to their existing  phone.

photo by Sura Nualpradid

Man Tries to Rob a Restaurant With an iPhone

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So I came across this story recently about a man who tried to rob a restaurant with a iPhone! This is definitely one of the stranger cases of financial desperation that I have seen in a long time!

Apparently, Jerome Taylor entered the Northern Indian restaurant in New London, Connecticut and put on a mask. He then pulled something out of his pocket and demanded money from the cooks.

I guess he picked the wrong restaurant, because the cooks responded by grabbing their knives and refusing to give up the money. Well, instead of attacking the cooks or at least threatening them further, Taylor claimed to be “just kidding” and issued an apology. He then told them that he needed the money in order to feed his child (I guess it’s too late to put her on a slow carb diet 😯 ), and then left the establishment.

Since it doesn’t seem as though Taylor had much of a plan, it should come to no surprise to learn that he was caught by the police soon after. He then confessed and told them that he tried to rob the restaurant with an iPhone!

Yep, he tried to rob a restaurant with an iPhone!!! After learning of this, the cooks said that they feel sorry for him and they will not press charges. As of the time of this story, the police had decided to charge Taylor with attempted robbery, anyway.

Maybe if he would have read my article on how to cut cell phone expenses, he would have had been able to buy some food from the restaurant instead. Next time he should just use his iPhone to search for a few frugal living tips!

A Few Questions:

  1. Since he needed food and was in a restaurant, why didn’t he just rob them for a couple of plates of food? Maybe he doesn’t like Indian food?

  2. Am I the only one that noticed that he owns an expensive smartphone that requires an expensive data plan? Perhaps he stole it or purchased it when his cash flow was better?

  3. What is the craziest thing that you have done out of financial desperation? If I get enough responses to this one, maybe I’ll put up another post with my answer. 😉


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